202010 Learning Disabilities Innovation Hubs

Program seeks Council approval to recompete an initiative titled “Learning Disabilities Innovation Hubs”. Specific Learning Disorders (SLDs) are highly prevalent with approximately 15% of the population having one or more SLDs. Despite progress as a field, there remains a significant need to improve short- and long-term learning and broader public health outcomes (e.g., reducing health disparities) for individuals from low-resource and under-represented groups (e.g., minority groups, individuals with multiple co-occurring conditions, English language learners and transient or homeless children) that often lack access to the technology and connectivity necessary to engage in distance learning activities while at home.

This proposed initiative builds off of our success in recruiting children from under-represented groups (URGs) and mentoring the next generation of diverse scholars to tackle historically challenging and under-researched research topics key to addressing the public health needs of children and adolescents with SLDs. Our goal is to advance understanding of and/or treatment for individuals at-risk for or diagnosed with SLD’s for reading/writing, mathematics and/or reasoning. The initiative aims to capture the diverse learning experiences and settings of children with an emphasis on technology-based and/or -inclusive approaches to instruction and how they impact learning. This proposed initiative is explicitly envisioned to require innovative, high-risk scientific projects and speed the maturation of cross-cutting scientific topics of high public health import. Additionally, in the spirit of the term ‘Hub’, these projects will help nurture the scientific and professional development of early career scholars with an emphasis on individuals from URGs.

This concept aligns most centrally with NICHD’s strategic plans emphasis on child adolescent health and the transition to adulthood, health disparities and disease prevention and aspirational goals of understanding technology exposure and media use, and the training of the next generation of scientists. The concept also aligns closely with the Child Development and Behavior Branch emphasis on neurodevelopment and neuroplasticity and effects of technology and digital media use.

The program’s goals include: 1) serving as a catalyst to address the needs of diverse, under-represented populations in SLD research and beyond, 2) enhancing understanding of the role of technology in learning, 3) catalyzing a shift to consider more complex behavioral phenotypes in research projects and 4) speed the maturation of high-impact, high-risk science to the benefit of the broader research, practice and policy community.

Program Contact

Brett Miller
Child Development and Behavior Branch (CDBB)

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